<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>You Made Your Mark On Me. by crosspin</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26056339">You Made Your Mark On Me.</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/crosspin/pseuds/crosspin'>crosspin</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>I belong to you. (Protective Universe) [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Biting, Blow Jobs, Engaged, Face-Fucking, Jealousy, M/M, Possessive Behavior, Post-Canon, Semi-Public Sex, guys i really subverted the male gaze with this one, hickey, lets objectify men</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 10:47:15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,098</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26056339</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/crosspin/pseuds/crosspin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>Normally having Sokka by his side for these sorts of events made them more bearable, but Zuko wasn’t sure he would be able to bear letting Sokka loose in public looking like <strong>that.</strong> </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Another night, another obligatory political function, and another room full of people who can't seem to stop flirting with Sokka. Zuko gets understandably jealous and takes matters into his own hands. Or, was it mouth?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>I belong to you. (Protective Universe) [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1891462</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>66</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>951</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>You Made Your Mark On Me.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hi. So, this is technically a sequel to my longfic, <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24024061/chapters/57800230"> Protective</a>, but you don't have to read that to understand this. All you need to know is both boys are 22. I could tell you that they're engaged, but trust me, they'll make sure you know. </p><p>Written while listening to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_GneCw-IoA">"Dress" by Taylor Swift</a> on repeat. I suggest you do the same, if only to picture Zuko vibing hard to the line "they got no idea about me and you," and Sokka rolling his eyes and saying "Yes...yes they do."</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>So, here’s the thing about the engagement necklace: the clasp was broken.<br/>
<br/>
And it was <em>fine</em>. Really! It wasn’t a big deal. It was just a matter of ordering a new, custom clasp from the royal jeweler and waiting for it to arrive. And it wasn’t even like the broken clasp was Sokka’s fault. In a rough attempt to escort Sokka to safety during the frenzy of another palace lockdown (because <em>yes</em>, those were protocol now), an overenthusiastic guard had grazed the necklace with a bit too much force and wrenched the clasp clean off the leather band. The assassination attempt turned out to be a false alarm, and Sokka’s necklace was the only casualty of the day. Compared to most of the problems on the Fire Lord’s desk, this was an easy fix.<br/>
<br/>
So, seriously, everything was fine.<br/>
<br/>
Except it <em>wasn’t</em>. Because now Zuko could have sworn he was experiencing physical pain every time he looked over at Sokka and was forced to remember <em>again</em> that the necklace wasn’t where it was supposed to be. Six months had passed since the last time Sokka’s neck had been so bare, and Zuko didn’t like reliving that memory every time he looked at his fiancé. And Zuko hated himself for thinking it, but the lack of a necklace erased the evidence of their relationship from Sokka’s appearance. It made him look available. It made him look <em>single</em>.<br/>
<br/>
Zuko trusted Sokka with every bone in his body. What he didn’t trust, however, was the lust of every other man and woman who got close enough to Sokka realize both his obscene beauty and his apparent bachelorhood.<br/>
<br/>
To make matters worse, of course this situation was coinciding with the Fire Nation’s most important diplomatic interaction with the Northern Water Tribe of the year. The Water Tribe was sending a massive envoy of ambassadors and ministers and councilors and the chief himself to the Fire Nation for a weeklong visit that would be filled with ceremony and solemnity. Tonight, to celebrate the envoy’s arrival, Zuko was hosting the visitors in a formal reception that promised to be a night of stiffness, both in dancing and conversation.<br/>
<br/>
Normally having Sokka by his side for these sorts of events made them more bearable, but…<br/>
<br/>
He wasn’t sure he would be able to bear letting Sokka loose in public looking like <em>that</em>.<br/>
<br/>
“Oh my god, at least say <em>something</em>,” Sokka said teasingly as time stretched on and Zuko continued to stare at him in overwhelmed silence. “This getup was approved by representatives from three different nations, so you’re not allowed to not like it.”<br/>
<br/>
Not liking it was not the problem. Sokka was dressed head-to-toe in Northern Water Tribe periwinkle, tailored to accommodate the Fire Nation’s warm climate. So, even though his “collar” and his “sleeves” were lined with soft white fur, Sokka would have probably frozen to death in a minute if he stepped outside at the North Pole with no fabric on his arms to speak of and an unnecessarily low-cut V-neck that left his toned pecs on shameless display for all to see. The royal stylists were unnervingly good at what they did, and so every muscle on Sokka’s body was accommodated for and emphasized, drawing the eye down to the curve of his waist or the thickness of his thighs or the flex of his bare biceps. Every pierced hole up and down the curves of his ears was filled with gold jewelry, and a few gold bracelets enclosed each of his wrists. He jangled a little bit when he moved.<br/>
<br/>
<em>All that jewelry and still no necklace</em>, Zuko thought bitterly, unable to tear his eyes away from Sokka’s noticeably naked neck.<br/>
<br/>
Sokka was getting more amused by the second, so Zuko did his best to conjure up a convincing lie.<br/>
<br/>
“I <em>do</em> like it,” Zuko told him tensely, careful not to betray anything more than that. Sokka would see an inch and take a mile as he always did, and Zuko was pretty sure if they spent one more minute alone in this bedroom, they would never leave it.<br/>
<br/>
But Sokka knew him. <em>Too</em> well.<br/>
<br/>
He took one more loud step forward, and Zuko took one back, feeling his shoulders hit the bedroom wall as Sokka crowded him up against it.<br/>
<br/>
Sokka’s smile had turned wolfish. “Really? You only <em>like</em> it?”<br/>
<br/>
Zuko exhaled deeply as Sokka laced his ring-studded fingers between Zuko’s and leaned down to press their foreheads together.<br/>
<br/>
“Sokka,” he breathed. He meant it to sound exasperated, but instead it came out more than a little like a moan.<br/>
<br/>
“Mmm?”<br/>
<br/>
Zuko drew in another deep breath, summoning every ounce of self-control in his body. “If you keep that up…”<br/>
<br/>
“Yeah?”<br/>
<br/>
“I’m chaining you to my bedpost and sending everyone home.”<br/>
<br/>
Sokka’s grin grew even wider. He brushed his nose slowly against Zuko’s. “And what if I’m okay with that?”<br/>
<br/>
“<em>Sokka</em>,” Zuko groaned.<br/>
<br/>
“Okay, okay.” Sokka pressed a soft kiss against the tip of Zuko’s nose before taking a few steps back. “How’s this? Acceptable?”<br/>
<br/>
Zuko stared mournfully through the fresh distance between them. Nothing about this situation was in any way acceptable.<br/>
<br/>
“I hate seeing you without it,” Zuko told him sadly.<br/>
<br/>
Sokka knew exactly what he meant, as he always did, because he reached up now and rubbed the bare skin of his neck. “I know. It feels weird, not wearing it. It’s crazy to think I lived most of my life like that.”<br/>
<br/>
Zuko thought so too. “Everyone’s going to think you’re up for grabs.”<br/>
<br/>
Sokka laughed. “Oh my gosh. Babe. No, they’re not. What was it Katara said? Anyone who spends two seconds with us knows we’re together?”<br/>
<br/>
“I don’t like those two seconds,” Zuko growled.<br/>
<br/>
“Baby,” Sokka chided him, that teasing tone coloring the word once more. “Look at me. This isn’t how they dress the ambassador. This is how they dress the arm candy.”<br/>
<br/>
“I miss the ambassador robes.”<br/>
<br/>
Sokka snorted. “No, you don’t.”<br/>
<br/>
“I do!” Zuko insisted. “I like being the only one who knows what’s underneath.<br/>
<br/>
“Well, there are still some parts of me that only you get to see.” The lowness of his voice and the tilt of his eyebrows were getting too flirtatious for Zuko to handle without causing an international incident, so he turned away.<br/>
<br/>
“Is it too late to uninvite you?” Zuko asked hopefully. “I’m going to be useless tonight.”<br/>
<br/>
“I’m thinking yes,” Sokka told him. “You’re gonna be fine, okay? Just try not think about all the things I’m gonna do to you when we get back here tonight. Like how I’m gonna – ”<br/>
<br/>
“<em>Sokka!</em>”<br/>
<br/>
“Sorry!”</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Zuko watched it happen in real time, and it made his blood boil.<br/>
<br/>
The reception was underway, and Fire Nation and Water Tribe dignitaries alike had broken off into smaller groups of quiet chatter. Zuko was moving dutifully from group to group, ensuring no Water Tribe visitor would finish the night feeling starved for attention from the Fire Lord. Sokka stuck by his side, which was a relief and a distraction all at once.<br/>
<br/>
Zuko came to a stop next to his Minister of Energy, who was talking animatedly to a young woman in formal Water Tribe robes.<br/>
<br/>
“Ah! Allow me to introduce you,” the Fire Nation minister said. “This is Councilwoman Kirima, the newest addition to the chief’s cabinet.”<br/>
<br/>
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Zuko said for about the hundredth time that night, hoping his smile still looked real despite the soreness in his jaw.<br/>
<br/>
“The pleasure is all mine,” Kirima said with a smile and a bow of her head.<br/>
<br/>
“Councilwoman, this is Fire Lord Zuko and Sokka, Ambassador to the Southern Water Tribe.”<br/>
<br/>
That’s when Zuko saw it. One second Kirima was regarding Sokka with respectful interest. Then her eyes flicked, almost imperceptibly, to the bare skin on his neck. Suddenly her interest became a little…less respectful.<br/>
<br/>
“Ambassador Sokka,” she said coyly, turning fully to face him and grabbing his forearm in the typical Water Tribe greeting. She let her hand linger over the tattoos there. “I don’t believe I’ve ever had the pleasure. Why haven’t I seen you at the North Pole before?”<br/>
<br/>
“I – ”<br/>
<br/>
“He’s been traveling less ever since we got <em>engaged</em>.”<br/>
<br/>
The words came out of Zuko’s mouth before he could stop them. Surprised as he was by himself, he didn’t regret what he’d said. He stared Kirima down now, leveling the full force of his regality her way and making sure she knew where she stood.<br/>
<br/>
Sokka, for his part, rolled his eyes and threw a knowing smile toward Zuko. “With all the wedding planning going on, the scheduling just hasn’t worked out. But don’t worry, I’ll make a visit soon.”<br/>
<br/>
He wrapped one hand around Zuko’s upper arm. The gesture was totally innocent, and yet obvious enough that the message couldn’t be missed: <em>We’re together</em>. Zuko could practically hear Sokka’s voice in his head: <em>Arm candy, not ambassador</em>.<br/>
<br/>
Kirima looked mortified. “Oh! Um. Congratulations,” she stuttered, her dark cheeks growing even darker. “You make a lovely couple.”<br/>
<br/>
“Thanks, we think so too,” Sokka kindly. He was always better than Zuko at smoothing over awkward situations like these. Which was what made him such a good ambassador (and such good arm candy).<br/>
<br/>
The rest of the night went on in much the same way, with strangers reacting to Sokka with anything from intrigue to outright flirtation and Zuko correcting them with force of varied appropriateness. Even though Zuko could empathize with the onlookers (dear <em>god,</em> could he empathize, because just <em>look</em> at Sokka), it was still frustrating. Their engagement wasn’t a secret! It had been formally announced! There had been a speech and lots of letter-writing! The world knew that Zuko was marrying an ambassador, but apparently it struggled to understand that Zuko’s bejeweled companion was that same ambassador, especially when his throat bore no evidence of engagement.<br/>
<br/>
The Fire Lord was supposed to give a speech commemorating the event, and so midway through the night, the guests took their seats and gathered around a traditional Water Tribe meal. On his left, Sokka gave Zuko’s hand a reassuring squeeze before Zuko stood and a hush fell over the room.<br/>
<br/>
“Esteemed guests,” Zuko began, reciting the heavily-edited remarks his staff had written for him to memorize. “It’s an honor to welcome you to the Fire Nation.”<br/>
<br/>
Zuko’s eyes scanned the crowd as he spoke, hoping to land on Sokka but catching on something less comforting. Almost every gaze was turned up toward the speaking Fire Lord, but there was one set of eyes that was downcast. A woman at the table next to theirs was facing Sokka’s side, eyes raking up and down his body with open hunger.<br/>
<br/>
That wouldn’t do.<br/>
<br/>
“I’m delighted to see the harmony that has blossomed between our two nations,” Zuko said, avoiding eye contact with his staff so he couldn’t see their reactions to him going off script. He stepped back toward their table, coming to a stop behind Sokka’s chair and placing a firm hand on his shoulder. “…and I know my fiancé is too.”<br/>
<br/>
There. Now there could be no mistake. Everyone in the room knew, necklace or no necklace, Sokka was <em>his</em>.<br/>
<br/>
Sokka beamed up at him from his seat, surprised by his unexpected inclusion. Zuko smiled back down at him and gave his shoulder a light squeeze before moving away and going on with the speech.<br/>
<br/>
“I hope this gathering will serve as a symbol for the cohesion yet to come…”</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>In the chaos that followed the end of the meal, Zuko lost Sokka in the crowd. The Water Tribe representatives had grown a little more raucous now that they had some alcohol in their systems, meaning the room was rowdy with actual dancing now, and it was just that much harder for Zuko to weave his way through, making conversation as a pretense for searching for his missing fiancé.<br/>
<br/>
After one too many social interactions, Zuko snuck off alone to the bathroom. He didn’t need to use it; he just needed to lock himself in a stall and breathe and remind himself that it would all be over soon. He’d be back in bed with Sokka soon.<br/>
<br/>
He was almost recharged enough to face the crowd again when someone came into the bathroom behind him. Zuko decided it would be undignified to reveal that the Fire Lord was hiding from his own guests in the bathroom, so he lay in silent wait as the person did their business and began to wash their hands.<br/>
<br/>
A second set of footsteps joined the first.<br/>
<br/>
“Ambassador!” the unknown man said with happy surprise.<br/>
<br/>
“Tulok!”<br/>
<br/>
Zuko froze. The second voice was Sokka’s.<br/>
<br/>
There was a loud thump as the men clapped each other’s arms, or maybe their backs? Zuko tried to remember if he had ever met anyone named Tulok. He thought it might be the beefy Northern Water Tribe diplomat who’d worked with Sokka to draft a disarmament agreement about a year ago, but he couldn’t be sure.<br/>
<br/>
“So, engaged to the Fire Lord, huh?” Tulok said, with faux deference.<br/>
<br/>
“Yup!” Zuko’s heart warmed a little to hear the amount of enthusiasm that was packed into the one syllable.<br/>
<br/>
“I’ll be honest, I definitely didn’t see that one coming.”<br/>
<br/>
Sokka laughed. “What? What do you mean?”<br/>
<br/>
“Well, I always kind of thought…you and I…”<br/>
<br/>
Zuko’s eyebrow shot up into his hair. <em>What the fuck?<br/>
<br/>
</em>“What are you talking about?” The lighthearted tone of Sokka’s voice was abruptly gone.<br/>
<br/>
“Come on, Sokka, really? All those late nights we spent together? Don’t tell me you didn’t feel that too.”<br/>
<br/>
“Tulok,” Sokka said seriously. He didn’t sound angry, even though from his hiding place, Zuko was fuming. “Whatever you think you felt, you’re wrong. It’s only Zuko for me. It always has been.”<br/>
<br/>
“Relax, man, it’s me. You don’t have to use that line on me.”<br/>
<br/>
“What <em>line?</em>”<br/>
<br/>
“The line about how you’re <em>so in love</em> with your betrothed. No one expects the Fire Lord to get married for love – ”<br/>
<br/>
“We <em>are</em> in love – ”<br/>
<br/>
“Sokka. It’s normal. Up north, these little marriages of convenience happen all the time. That’s just the world we live in.”<br/>
<br/>
“That’s not the world I live in, okay? You’re reading this all wrong.”<br/>
<br/>
“He didn’t even make you engagement necklace, and you’re telling me he loves you?”<br/>
<br/>
“<em>Of course</em> he made me an engagement necklace!” Sokka shouted, sounding genuinely upset for the first time.<br/>
<br/>
“Hm,” Tulok said, no doubt observing the obvious lack of engagement necklace on Sokka’s throat. “Well, I know you have a duty to your people to make this marriage work. But when tonight is over, don’t forget there’s nothing wrong with having a little fun <em>outside</em> the marriage, either – ”<br/>
<br/>
There was a thump and a shuffling of feet, and then Zuko heard Sokka’s voice again, further away this time.<br/>
<br/>
“<em>Fuck you</em>. You’re lucky I’m not putting you on the next ship back home.” Sokka’s voice was low with fury. “Don’t you ever disrespect my relationship like that again, okay? Not ever. Or I swear to <em>god</em> the only fun you’ll be having is from a hospital bed.”<br/>
<br/>
Sokka let out an angry huff and then his footsteps retreated from the bathroom. The rejected diplomat stayed behind, muttering as he finished washing his hands and finally left.<br/>
<br/>
And from where he was hiding, Zuko was seeing red.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Fuck self-control. All of Zuko’s worst fears were coming true. The missing necklace was the elephant koi in the room. Everyone really thought that this engagement was a sham, and Sokka was only with him because of some sense of duty. They thought Zuko didn’t <em>love</em> him. They thought Sokka was game for <em>fun outside of the</em> –<br/>
<br/>
Zuko took some steadying breaths as he stared himself down in the bathroom mirror. He couldn’t very well do what he <em>wanted</em> to do, which was march back out to the reception and debauch Sokka right on the dance floor for all to see. That would only serve to reinforce the notion that Sokka was with him under duress. No, he needed to contain himself just a little longer. Just until he could get Sokka alone.<br/>
<br/>
Once he had regained enough composure to fake an air of normalcy, Zuko stalked out of the bathroom and back into the crowd. Sokka couldn’t have gotten far, could he? Normally, Zuko liked it when Sokka wore blue because it made him stand out from everyone else. Now, it meant that Sokka was lost in the sea of identically-colored Water Tribesmen.<br/>
<br/>
<em>Finally</em> Zuko found him, surrounded by a gaggle of girls who were most certainly not old enough to be present as anything other than plus-ones to their parents. They were hanging on to Sokka’s every word as he told an exaggerated origin story of the scar on his chest. As Zuko approached, Sokka pulled down the front of his shirt a few more inches to show the extent of the scar. The members of his audience were more than happy to use the wound as an excuse to lean in for a closer look.<br/>
<br/>
Sokka spotted Zuko when he was a few feet away. He met Zuko’s hasty approach with a surprised look, but less than a second later that surprise melted away into something more like a smirk.<br/>
<br/>
Sokka knew him. <em>Too</em> well.<br/>
<br/>
“Hey, here’s the man himself!” Sokka said, looping his arm around Zuko’s and dragging Zuko up against his side to peck the top his head. “I wouldn’t be alive today if he hadn’t been there to rescue me.”<br/>
<br/>
“Is it true you rode all the way to the palace naked?” one of the girls asked, awed.<br/>
<br/>
“I – no, that’s not true at all,” Zuko said stiffly. He turned to Sokka, who was smiling down at him playfully. He knew exactly where this was going. “I need to talk to you. About your meeting with the <em>diplomat</em> earlier. In private.”<br/>
<br/>
There was a moment when Sokka’s eyes turned dark, but the smile stayed. “Well, that sounds important.” He looked back toward his listeners. “Sorry, guys, official Fire Nation business. I’ll find you later and tell you the rest.”<br/>
<br/>
There was a series of disappointed <em>bye</em>’s. Zuko grabbed Sokka by the (<em>bare, exposed, naked</em>) bicep and tugged him away, out of the crowd and down a corridor that snaked away from the main ballroom. Sokka followed eagerly along beside him.<br/>
<br/>
“You know, you lasted longer than I thought you would,” Sokka whispered loudly, even when there were still a few other guests in the hall to hear them.<br/>
<br/>
“Shh.”<br/>
<br/>
“I was starting to think <em>I </em>was going to have to come find <em>you</em> – ”<br/>
<br/>
“<em>Shh</em>.”<br/>
<br/>
Zuko found what he was looking for – a door. That was all they needed. Just a door between them and the rest of the world. What lay behind the door didn’t matter, because as soon as Zuko had yanked it open, shoved Sokka inside, and slammed it shut, he was tackling Sokka against the wall.<br/>
<br/>
“<em>Fuck</em>,” Sokka sighed, melting into Zuko’s manhandling. Normally Zuko would have kissed him, but now he went straight for the neck, tipping Sokka’s head backwards with a yank of his wolftail and sinking his teeth in where Sokka’s throat met his jawbone.<br/>
<br/>
“Marriage of – <em>convenience?</em>” Zuko hissed against Sokka’s skin.<br/>
<br/>
“Right? As if it could be – <em>ah!</em> – convenient being with your needy ass.”<br/>
<br/>
“I’m not needy,” Zuko told him, slipping a hand under Sokka’s collar because he <em>needed</em> to feel the firm muscle of his pec. Sokka sighed as Zuko’s finger brushed against his nipple. “Everyone else is needy, not me.”<br/>
<br/>
“<em>Ah</em>, okay, baby, okay, you’re right, you’re not needy at all,” Sokka conceded easily as Zuko licked down his neck and began to kiss along his collarbone.<br/>
<br/>
“Everyone here <em>wants</em> you – ” Zuko murmured angrily against him.<br/>
<br/>
“Don’t worry about them,” Sokka cut him off, and then gasped as Zuko nipped his skin once more. “<em>Ah!</em> Don’t worry about them, I’m yours, baby, I’m yours.”<br/>
<br/>
“They think you want <em>fun</em> outside of the <em>marriage</em>,” Zuko huffed. His hands slid down and clawed their way up under Sokka’s shirt, scratching at his abs.<br/>
<br/>
“A-as if I have – the <em>time</em> – with you shoving me into a closet every five minutes.” Sokka’s hands fumbled to grope Zuko’s ass, but struggled for purchase through the thick, silky robes. He settled for wrapping his arm around Zuko’s waist and hauling him closer, so that Zuko straddled his thigh and their hips were pressed flush together.<br/>
<br/>
Zuko barely wanted to name his next fear, but the words were burned into his brain like a brand. “They think I don’t love you,” he whispered against the scar on Sokka’s chest.<br/>
<br/>
“Babe, look at me,” Sokka said seriously, more coherent than he had been before. When Zuko didn’t move, Sokka grabbed him by the jaw and tilted his head up, forceful and gentle all at once. Sokka’s eyes were dark with lust, but that didn’t obscure the raw tenderness of his gaze. “I know you love me. Fuck what they think. <em>I know</em>. You love me so good, baby, better than anyone else ever could.”<br/>
<br/>
Zuko’s roaming hands stilled as he looked up at Sokka. “And – ”<br/>
<br/>
“And I love you. I love you <em>so fucking much</em>. You’re everything to me, you know that.”<br/>
<br/>
It was the surprising amount of <em>emotion</em> in the tiny smile that Sokka gave him that did it for Zuko. He pounced, closing the distance between their mouths and kissing Sokka, hard. Sokka moaned something that sounded like <em>yeah</em> against his mouth and took Zuko’s face between his hands, holding it there and kissing back like a man starved. Zuko’s hands slid around Sokka’s waist and down toward his ass, gripping it tight and dragging their hips together. That ass might have been on display all night but it was <em>his</em>, only his, and only he got to touch Sokka like this. Sokka groaned at the contact and grinded back against him.<br/>
<br/>
The sound of wild panting filled the air, and Sokka broke away to gasp for breath. Zuko’s eyes raked over him once more, pleased to see how undone and flushed Sokka looked, but then they landed inevitably on the bare skin of his neck. It filled Zuko with more rage than ever.<br/>
<br/>
Zuko grabbed Sokka by the wolftail and jerked his head back so the skin of his throat was taut. Sokka groaned at the roughness and Zuko went in, landing right at the spot where the necklace <em>should</em> have been, and sucking <em>hard</em>.<br/>
<br/>
Sokka inhaled sharply. “Zuko, wait, you’re going to leave a – ”<br/>
<br/>
“Yes.”<br/>
<br/>
Zuko pulled away and gave him a serious look, waiting for Sokka’s okay. The look in his eye made Sokka whimper.<br/>
<br/>
“Oh, <em>please</em>,” he whispered. “Please, Zuko.”<br/>
<br/>
Zuko dove back in, sucking a dark bruise into the bare skin while Sokka whimpered and pawed at him through his robes. When it was visible enough for his liking, Zuko pressed a soft kiss against it and then moved further back to the muscle beneath his ear to kiss another bruise into the skin there. Sokka leaned into his mouth and moved helplessly against him. Through the layers of clothing draping Zuko’s figure, Sokka could only barely grab him, and instead wrapped his arms tight against Zuko’s whole body and ground his thigh up against Zuko’s crotch. Zuko knew even through all that fabric, Sokka could feel how painfully hard he already was.<br/>
<br/>
Zuko broke away from Sokka’s neck with a <em>pop</em> and fell back to look at his handiwork. His wolftail released, Sokka let his head fall back against the wall. He gave Zuko a lazy grin.<br/>
<br/>
“How – how do I look?” he asked between heavy pants.<br/>
<br/>
Sokka looked <em>ruined</em>, with his hair askew and his neck littered with bruises and his eyelids low over his wanting eyes. He looked like he belonged to Zuko.<br/>
<br/>
That thought sent Zuko’s libido into overdrive, and before his brain could squeeze out another thought he was dropping to his knees. “Oh <em>fuck</em>, oh my <em>god</em>,” Sokka groaned above him as Zuko’s hands came up to grope his thighs. Zuko was face-to-face now with Sokka’s cock, straining against the fabric of his way-too-tight pants. He leaned in and ran his teeth along it through Sokka’s clothes, hard enough that Sokka would still be able to feel it.<br/>
<br/>
“Can I?” he asked harshly, pulling back to look up at Sokka.<br/>
<br/>
“<em>Please</em>, fuck, please baby, I need you.” Sokka raked a hand through his own hair and bucked his hips against Zuko’s face so his cock brushed back against his mouth. “Please, oh my god.”<br/>
<br/>
Zuko kissed him again and then yanked up Sokka’s shirt so he could get to the top of his pants. The royal stylists really had spared no expense, because Zuko saw now that the pants were cinched up by an unreasonably extravagant bejeweled gold belt. Zuko fumbled with it for a few moments frustratedly. He might have appreciated that Sokka’s goods were locked up tight from everyone else, but not from <em>him</em>.<br/>
<br/>
“You’re telling me this was approved by representatives from three different nations? This is the worst design I’ve ever seen.”<br/>
<br/>
“Okay, the belt might have been me,” Sokka admitted sheepishly. Zuko glared up at him. “What! You know I can’t say no to a good belt.”<br/>
<br/>
He reached down to help Zuko with the buckle, but Zuko batted his hands away. <em>Finally</em>, after a few more moments of fumbling, Zuko broke the belt open with a triumphant gasp. He slipped his fingers under the waistbands of Sokka’s pants and his underwear, pulling both down together so Sokka’s cock was finally freed. Sokka gasped at the sting of the cold air, and his hips bucked forward, so that the tip of it just brushed against Zuko’s lips.<br/>
<br/>
Zuko gave the head a quick lick, earning a high-pitched yelp from Sokka, but his eye was drawn to the dark crease where Sokka’s muscular thigh met his pelvis. He moved to the side to run his nose over the muscle there and then to bite into it, sucking hard enough to leave a little bruise there, for no one but Sokka to see.<br/>
<br/>
“<em>Fuck</em>, fuck,” Sokka was chanting, covering his own mouth with his hand to keep anyone out in the hall from hearing him. His back arched eagerly away from the wall as he pressed into Zuko’s kiss. Sokka let out a gasp as Zuko gave him a particularly forceful bite over the swell of his mid-thigh. “<em>Ah!</em> Oh god, baby, quit teasing me. Let me give it to you, <em>please</em>, I need to.”<br/>
<br/>
Zuko was getting a little satisfaction from turning the tables and being the tease for once, but that wasn’t going to stop him taking what he needed. He released the skin of Sokka’s thigh and turned back to his cock, upright and leaking against his stomach. Zuko sent a mischievous glance up toward Sokka before swallowing him whole.<br/>
<br/>
“<em>Mmph!</em>” Sokka cried out through his own hand, slumping even further down the wall as Zuko took every inch of him at once. “<em>Yes</em>, please, <em>yes</em>, fuck.”<br/>
<br/>
Zuko came to a stop in the curls at the base of Sokka’s cock. Once he reached them, he took a few seconds to breathe through his nose and let his throat adjust around Sokka. Sokka always felt just a little too big for him, which made Zuko’s head spin with the desire to accommodate, to be good for Sokka. Above him, Sokka was breathing hard and squirming while doing his best to keep his hips still.<br/>
<br/>
Zuko dug his fingers into Sokka’s hips and swallowed once. Sokka let out a tortured yelp. His legs were beginning to shake from the effort of not moving.<br/>
<br/>
When he felt comfortable enough, Zuko slid slowly back until his lips were just barely around the head and then abruptly took Sokka down his throat once more. The surprise overrode Sokka’s self-control, so this time Zuko was met with the thrust of Sokka’s hips sending his cock even deeper down his throat than before. Zuko took it with muted cry, which made Sokka groan in response.<br/>
<br/>
“<em>Ah</em>, feels so good,” Sokka told him. “You take me so good, don’t you?”<br/>
<br/>
Zuko purred in agreement. Because <em>fuck</em>, yes, it felt so good to know that he had something to offer Sokka that no one else could. Zuko slid back and then began to set a steady pace, bobbing his head up and down at a moderate tempo he knew would be <em>just</em> too slow for Sokka’s liking.<br/>
<br/>
“Just like that, <em>just like that</em>,” Sokka groaned. Zuko felt Sokka’s hands fumbling carefully around his hair and his shoulders. Even now, in the throes of heat, probably wanting nothing more than to grab him by the hair and fuck him <em>hard</em>, Sokka was being careful not to muss up his carefully styled topknot. He was always thoughtful, even when barely capable of thought at all. Zuko loved him for it.<br/>
<br/>
Eventually his hands settled on either side of Zuko’s face. Sokka squeezed, putting just the right amount of pressure against his jaw. Then Zuko felt Sokka tilt his face upward.<br/>
<br/>
“Want to see you,” Sokka explained, voice a little rough with desperation.<br/>
<br/>
Zuko was feeling more confident now as he looked up into Sokka’s wild expression, knowing no one else would ever be able to make Sokka look like that for the rest of his life. He sucked hard and then slid his mouth off. “No one else gets to touch you like this.”<br/>
<br/>
It wasn’t a question – it was a statement of objective fact – but Sokka answered anyway. “No one, no one, oh my god, no one,” he gasped as Zuko took him all the way down again. One of Sokka’s thumbs came down to stroke his bottom lip. “Fuck, with a mouth like that? How could I ever want anyone else? Love that mouth so much.”<br/>
<br/>
Zuko groaned and pulled off. “Tell me how much you love it.”<br/>
<br/>
“It’s <em>perfect</em>, so good, best fucking feeling in the world.” Sokka fell naturally into the rambling. It felt like he always had more to say about how good Zuko was for him – like in his brain, there was some never-ending reservoir of dammed up compliments that was always ready to burst at a moment’s notice. That was one reason Zuko loved this position so much. His mouth was occupied, with no expectation for him to articulate his lust into words. Sokka’s was free with no choice but to run. “Perfect fit for me, <em>fuck</em>. It’s like you were made for me. Just want my cock to live down your throat like that.”<br/>
<br/>
Zuko let out a high moan and started moving more quickly. “Just like that, oh my god. <em>Fuck</em>, baby, if you could see how you look with your mouth around my cock like that. Prettiest fucking thing in the world. I want to get this painted.” Sokka grip around his face was getting tighter as his self-control waned. “Wish someone would walk in right now. See how pretty you look down on your knees like that. Being so good for me.”<br/>
<br/>
They were picking up the pace now, with Zuko gripping tight to Sokka’s thighs and Sokka’s hips twitching, <em>barely</em> holding back from thrusting deep down Zuko’s throat. “Want everyone to see how – <em>ugh</em> – how good you are for me. Want them to know you’re the only one for me. <em>Fuck</em>, how you love me so good. I can’t even look at anyone else. Just want to look at you down on your knees like that forever.”<br/>
<br/>
Sokka’s words were lighting a fire deep in Zuko’s belly. It was exactly what he needed to hear. Zuko slid his hands around to the back of Sokka’s hips and tugged them in, signaling to Sokka that it was okay, he could move them, he didn’t have to hold back anymore.  <br/>
<br/>
Sokka’s entire body complied instantly. His grip tightened even more around Zuko’s face and his hips jerked forward, sending him all the way down Zuko’s throat. His babbling was growing less coherent as he thrust repeatedly into Zuko’s mouth. “<em>OH MY GOD</em>, <em>oh</em>, just like that, oh my god. Not gonna last long if you keep taking me like that. Fuck, Zuko, fuck.”<br/>
<br/>
Zuko moaned and repositioned himself so he could watch Sokka fall apart above him. Sokka was staring down at him, needy and desperate, unable to tear his eyes away, breaths coming quick and hard. “Look at you, spirits just <em>look at you</em>. Oh, Zuko. My baby.” Zuko let out a cry at that, and Sokka sucked in a breath. “That’s right, you’re mine, you’re <em>mine</em>. Spirits, <em>fuck</em>, you’re mine.”<br/>
<br/>
Sokka’s movements were getting more erratic, and Zuko clung even more tightly to him. He was barely moving himself now; instead he was pliant, letting Sokka move his skull up and down as he fucked into Zuko’s mouth. It felt so good it was almost overwhelming. There was a thrill shooting down his whole body at the feeling of being manhandled – of letting Sokka use Zuko however he wanted. Even though Zuko hadn’t touched himself once this entire time, he felt himself starting to get close to climax.<br/>
<br/>
“I’m getting close now, <em>oh</em>. That pretty little mouth. Oh my god.” Sokka’s moans were growing louder now. Dimly Zuko realized they had both stopped putting any effort into being quiet, but he really couldn’t find it in him to care. In fact, he <em>hoped</em> someone was walking by and listening in to just how loud he could make Sokka. “Zuko. <em>Zuko</em>. Oh, Zuko. You know I’m yours. There’s – <em>fuck</em> – there’s no one else. I’m yours forever, baby, I’m yours, I’m yours.”<br/>
<br/>
Sokka choked back a wail as he hit the back of Zuko’s throat harder and harder with each thrust. “<em>Ah</em>, you’re gonna make me come, I’m so close. Can I come for you, baby? Can you let me give it to you?”<br/>
<br/>
Zuko wanted that more than anything in the world. He tried to nod but couldn’t, not through the force of Sokka’s strong grip on his head. Instead he let out an assenting moan and looked up at Sokka pleadingly. <em>Please</em>, he begged Sokka with his eyes. <em>Please give it to me</em>.<br/>
<br/>
Sokka heard him. “<em>Zuko</em>. Oh, baby. Gonna give you everything I have. You know it’s all yours, I’m yours, <em>fuck</em>, I’m yours, Zuko, oh, <em>oh, fuck</em>, I’m coming for you baby, I’m coming, fuck, it’s all yours, <em>I’m yours</em>…”<br/>
<br/>
Sokka’s eyes slammed shut and his words gave way to shapeless cries as he fucked Zuko’s face through his climax. Zuko felt the warmth spill out into the back of his throat and swallowed, over and over again, taking everything Sokka was giving him. Sokka could only keep it up for so long before he fell back, exhausted, against the wall. Zuko took over then, guiding his lips up and down, up and down, swallowing every last drop, taking what was <em>his</em>, what Sokka only gave to him and to no one else.<br/>
<br/>
Sokka was beginning to whimper at the contact. For fear of overwhelming him too much, Zuko slowed and pulled back so he was just sucking the head, savoring the last of Sokka’s orgasm. Finally, Sokka’s eyes opened again, and he gazed down at Zuko, awestruck and winded. Zuko felt Sokka’s thumbs stroke his cheekbones.<br/>
<br/>
“You’re so good to me, Zuko. Oh my god.”<br/>
<br/>
Zuko looked up Sokka with a little mirth and a lot of gratitude in his eyes. Sokka’s eyes went wide, and he tugged Zuko off his cock.<br/>
<br/>
“Let me blow you,” he said, a little desperately.<br/>
<br/>
“Later,” Zuko promised him.<br/>
<br/>
“<em>Zuko</em>,” Sokka whined. “Please. I need you in my mouth. I need it so bad, <em>please</em>. I can’t wait that long.”<br/>
<br/>
“<em>Later</em>,” Zuko repeated. He leaned over and placed some featherlight kisses over the bruises he’d bitten into Sokka’s thigh earlier.<br/>
<br/>
Sokka let out a strangled sound. “<em>Babe</em>…”<br/>
<br/>
“Maybe if I was wearing next to nothing, like you are,” Zuko said, with a playful lick up to Sokka’s pelvis.<br/>
<br/>
“I’m never stopping if – <em>ah</em> – if this is my punishment.”<br/>
<br/>
Zuko continued pressing soft kisses against Sokka’s legs and his hips as he caught his breath. When it seemed like Sokka wouldn’t fall over if he stood on his own, Zuko tugged his pants back up over his crotch and buckled the ridiculous belt again. As he smoothed his hands over Sokka’s legs and prepared to stand, his hand caught on something. He hadn’t felt it when he’d been groping Sokka’s legs earlier, but there was something small and hard in Sokka’s pocket.<br/>
<br/>
“What’s this?” he asked, running his fingers over it.<br/>
<br/>
“Hmm? What’s what?”<br/>
<br/>
“In your pocket?”<br/>
<br/>
Sokka gave him a funny look. He reached in and fished it out for Zuko to see. “My necklace,” he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.<br/>
<br/>
And so it was. Zuko stared in shock at the red leather band and the carved white disc. The clasp was <em>broken</em>, it wasn’t even <em>wearable</em>, and yet Sokka still –<br/>
<br/>
“I – you – why?” Zuko spluttered.<br/>
<br/>
Sokka was watching his reaction with mounting confusion. “I – I mean, I always have it. I take it everywhere with me. So I can always have a little piece of us. It makes me think of you.” His eyebrows bunched together. “Zuko – did you really think just because it was broken I wouldn’t take it with me anymore?”<br/>
<br/>
“I…I don’t know,” Zuko said. He was suddenly feeling emotionally overwhelmed at the thought of Sokka carrying around his necklace even when it couldn’t serve its purpose. Even when the only person who knew it was there was Sokka. He thought back to the night and saw it all now in a different light. Sokka’s necklace – their <em>engagement</em> – it had all been there with them the entire time.<br/>
<br/>
“Oh. Baby. Oh my gosh. You really – wow.” Sokka was starting to look a little amused. With his free hand he hauled Zuko to his feet, pulling Zuko into his chest. “Come here, you,” he said as he folded his arms around Zuko’s waist. “You know this necklace isn’t for everyone else, right? It’s just for me. It’s just for <em>us</em>.”<br/>
<br/>
As Zuko stared at him, Sokka’s amusement faded to bare sincerity. He reached one hand up to stroke Zuko’s cheekbone with the back of his knuckles. Not for the first time, Zuko wished they could skip the fanfare of the giant upcoming wedding and just <em>get married</em>. Right now. Just the two of them.<br/>
<br/>
“What?” Sokka asked, a small smile creeping to his lips. Something in Zuko’s eyes must have tipped him off.<br/>
<br/>
“I’m just…I can’t wait. For you to be my husband.”<br/>
<br/>
Sokka looked stunned. His eyes went a little wild before he pulled Zuko in to pepper kisses over his forehead. “I know, I know,” he murmured against Zuko’s skin. “I can’t wait either.”<br/>
<br/>
“I mean, I <em>really</em> can’t wait,” Zuko groaned. “This feels like torture.”<br/>
<br/>
Sokka’s breath hitched. He pulled away, just enough so he could look Zuko in the eye again. “You know…” he said, a little nervously, like he was choosing his words carefully. He bit his lip and stopped himself.<br/>
<br/>
Zuko bumped his nose against Sokka’s. “What?”<br/>
<br/>
“The – the big wedding. That’s for our people. That’s not for me,” Sokka told him. “I know it’s something we have to do, and that’s fine! But I don’t need any of that stuff. I mean, I’d – I’d marry you right here. I just want to be your husband. It’s not about everyone else, for me. It’s just about you.”<br/>
<br/>
The implication behind his words was unmistakable. Zuko stared at Sokka, considering what he was saying for the first time. It had never occurred to him that there could be another way. The promise of a massive, extravagant wedding had loomed in his future for as long as he had known what a wedding was. He had never even thought to ponder the alternative.<br/>
<br/>
“Oh,” he said finally. His head was too clouded by the sudden, overwhelming desire to do exactly what Sokka was suggesting to formulate a proper answer. “Okay.”<br/>
<br/>
“Yeah. So. I just wanted to make sure you knew that,” Sokka said quickly.<br/>
<br/>
“I’ll…keep that in mind,” Zuko told him.<br/>
<br/>
“Yeah?” Sokka looked overjoyed, like Zuko’s response was more than he’d hoped for. “Okay. Awesome. Good. Great.”<br/>
<br/>
Zuko cracked a smile at that. “All words that describe you,” he observed before leaning in to press a soft kiss against Sokka’s smiling mouth. Sokka sighed happily against him.<br/>
<br/>
Zuko could have kissed him forever, but he knew he shouldn’t. “We should get back out there,” he told Sokka remorsefully.<br/>
<br/>
Sokka sighed. “Yeah, I know,” he said, disappointment heavy in his voice.<br/>
<br/>
Even though his breathing had gone back to normal, Sokka still looked a little bit like a mess. Zuko reached up and redid Sokka’s wolftail for him. That helped a little, at least, he thought as he pulled away to look him over. There was still the matter of the dark bruises all over his neck though…<br/>
<br/>
“I think I got a little carried away,” he said, running one finger softly over the marks. “I’m sorry.”<br/>
<br/>
“Don’t be,” Sokka said with a grin. “I like ‘em. I think everyone will get the hint now.”<br/>
<br/>
Zuko couldn’t help but smile. That had been the goal, after all.<br/>
<br/>
“And look…” Sokka held up the engagement necklace so Zuko could see it, and then tucked it back into his front pocket. “It’s going to be right here, all night, okay? So you don’t have to worry.”<br/>
<br/>
“Okay,” Zuko said. He reached down and stroked the fabric, just to feel the necklace again through Sokka’s pocket. Its presence was immeasurably reassuring; even if no one else knew it was there, Zuko did. And that was all that mattered, anyway. <br/>
<br/>
“I love you,” Zuko told him.<br/>
<br/>
"I know,” Sokka assured him. “Trust me, I know. And I love you so, <em>so</em> much, okay? You’re never getting rid of me. I’m here.”<br/>
<br/>
Zuko’s smile grew a little bigger at that, and Sokka’s eyes flicked downward to take it in.<br/>
<br/>
“Hey…one more kiss? For the road?” Sokka asked softly. “Please? For me.”<br/>
<br/>
Zuko rolled his eyes. “And you say <em>I’m</em> the needy one.”<br/>
<br/>
But he would have rather died than said no.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Did you enjoy this? Want to scream about it with me? Have more suggestions? Bored and want to make friends? Hate it and want to complain? Come interact with me on tumblr! <a href="https://crosspin.tumblr.com">main blog</a> | <a href="https://engagedzukka.tumblr.com">atla blog</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>